a contribution on rodents fauna of the jaz murian ...2)_203-214.pdf · a contribution on rodents...

Biodiversity Journal, 2015, 7 (2): 203–214

A contribution on rodents fauna of the Jaz Murian depression,southeast Iran

Khajeh Asghar1, Darvish Jamshid2* & Razmi Gholam Reza3

1Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashahd, Mashhad, Iran2Applied Zoology Institute, Rodentology Research Department, Ferdowsi University of Mashahd, Mashhad, Iran3Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran*Corresponding author, e-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

KEY WORDS

Received 03.12.2016; accepted 19.01.2016; printed 30.06.2016

The Jaz Murian depression in the southeast of Iran bounded by deserts and mountains is aspecial corridor for penetration of Arabian and Indian fauna. The region demonstrates harshdesert climate. This study was designed to reveal rodent diversity of the region in the light ofgeographic features. Totally, 127 specimens belonging to 5 families and 14 genera and 15species were captured using live-traps and hand-net. As a result, the depression enjoys Orientaland Ethiopian elements (Acomys dimidiatus Cretzschemar, 1826, Gerbillus nanus Blanford,1875 and Meriones libycus Lichtenstein, 1823) which could pass Arabian deserts penetratingIran from northern shores of Persian Gulf. Also, the region is a penetration route for Orientalspecies such as Tatera indica Hardwicke, 1807, Golunda ellioti Gray, 1837, Merioneshurrianae (Jerdon, 1867) and Mus musculus Linnaeus, 1758. The Jaz Murian depression isconsidered as the southernmost boundary of distributional range of Apodemus witherbyiThomas, 1902 in the world. The Jaz Murian depression is supposed as a cross road betweenPalaearctic, Ethiopian and Oriental realms.

The Jaz Murian depression; Rodent’s diversity; Palaearctic; Ethiopian and Oriental realms.

INTRODUCTION

Knowledge about faunal composition of a re-gion will aid in mantaining and controlling its biod-iversity and clarifying the evolutionary history ofthe area. Also, it can provide information aboutcommunication routes of animals between realmsand lead to postulate filters and barriers (Darvish etal., 2014). Specially, these kinds of explorations incombination with geographical and topographic in-formation can help us to postulate the processesthrough which diversification of new lineages andendemicity occur. Small mammals such as rodents

are first reaching mammals to isolated ecosystemsand predecessors for establishing populations bydispersal after vicariance events (Lomolino et al.,2005). In addition, rodents play a key role in balan-cing the ecosystems as common members in foodchains (Shuai et al., 2006).

Moreover, documentation of rodent’s diversitycan help preventing and controlling public healthchallenges (Stenseth et al., 2003).They are knownas important pests and they are reservoirs of somezoontic diseases (Nateghpour et al., 2013). Besides,they may cause economic problems and damages toagricultural crops (Schiller et al., 1999). So, investi-

KHAJEH ASGHAR ET ALII

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Study area

The Jaz Murian depression is a broad oval in thesoutheast Iran covering about 25000 to 30000square miles (Fisher, 1968). East-west extension ofJebal Barez-Shah Savaran-Bazman Mountainchains separates this depression from Lut desert inthe north. In addition, continuation of the Zagrosthrough Bashagerd to Makran Mountains in thesouth isolated the region from coastal area of Per-sian Gulf (Fisher, 1968). In fact, the southern partof the region stands with mountainous range reach-ing 4000 feet but there is a corridor in northernFanuj with highlands less than 2850 feet above sealevel (Harrison, 1943). The region receives two sea-sonal streams, Halilrud (on the west) and BampurRiver (on the east) (Fisher, 1968). The depressionalso receives discharge of temporary streams anddrainage of the rainfall from surrounding highlands(Lay, 1967). Lay (1967) also described the regionas a dry land with the lowest precipitation in Iran

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gations shedding light on diversity and species rich-ness of rodents can provide valuable informationfrom biogeographic, economic and medical aspects.

The Jaz Murian depression in the southeast ofIran is a special route for exchange between Ara-bian and Indian fauna (Wessels, 1955; Misonne,1959). Because of hard accessibility to the regionbounded by deserts and mountains and its harsh cli-mate some limited studies had been focused on di-versity of mammals of the region (Blanford, 1875,1876, 1877; Zarudny, 1896, 1898; Lay, 1967).Etemad (1978), Firouz (1999) and Ziaie (2008)have also reported some species of rodents inhabitingthe region in their checklists of mammals of Iran but,some of these literature were recently revised(Musser & Carleton, 2005) and some records wereadded based on studies accomplished in RodentologyResearch Department of Ferdowsi University (Siah-sarvie & Darvish, 2007; Karami et al., 2008; Dianatet al., 2010; Darvish et al., 2014; Darvish et al.,2015). In this study, rodent fauna of the Jaz Muriandepression was investigated and its diversity wasdiscussed in the light of biogeographic view.

Figure 1. Maps of southeastern Iran with collecting sites for different specimens of rodents.

A contribution on rodents fauna of the Jaz Murian depression, southeast Iran 205

and abruptly falling temperature during nights withthe main vegetation including Acacia, Gymno-carpus, Tamarix and Haloxylon. Based on Deblase(1980) it is part of the Baluchestan zoogeographiczone and Sahari-Sindi flora is the main vegetationcover of the region (Misonne, 1959). Madjdzadeh(2012) proposed the presence of three differentzones in the region (desert and marginal desert,tropical zones and temperate mountainous zone). Infact, low plains reaching high mountainous rangetogether provide magnificent paradoxical land-scapes which can be seen in the region.

Sampling

The study was conducted in the Jaz Muriandepression, southeast Iran (parts of Sistan & Bal-uchestan beside Kerman Provinces) from January2014 to July 2015. Attributed geographical coordin-ates were recorded using GPS and ArcGIS ver.9.3 software was applied for preparing the map ofsampling localities (Fig. 1).

Rodents were collected using live-traps andsnack or sausage bates. Since, jerboas are not trap-pable in live traps so we caught them with a handnet, using a searchlight at night and motorcycle.Collected specimens were subjected and preparedbased on mammalogical procedure established bythe American Society of mammalogists AnimalCare and Use Committee (1998). Standard vouch-ers (skull, skin, tissues and karyotype idiograms)were preserved in Zoology Museum of FerdowsiUniversity (ZMFUM). In addition, specimens wereidentified based on identification keys (Corbet,1978) with consideration to new revisions on rodentspecies of Iran (Musser & Carleton, 2005; Darvishet al., 2006b, Darvish, 2009; Dianat et al., 2010;Darvish et al., 2014; Darvish et al., 2015). Taxo-nomic arrangement followed Musser and Carleton(2005). Four external (Table 2) and eight cranialcharacters were measured (Table 4) applying adigital caliper to the nearest 0.01 mm (Instar Inc.,Hangzhou, China). Fourteen dental characters(Table 3) were taken using a measuring microscopeaccurate to 0.001 mm. Mean and standard deviationof characters were estimated using SPSS 16 (SPSSInc., Chicago, IL, USA).

ABBREVIATIONS. BL: body length, TL: taillength, FL: foot length, EL: ear length,M1/L: lengthof first upper molar, M2/L: length of second uppermolar, M3/L: length of third upper molar, M1/W:

width of first upper molar, M2/W: width of secondupper molar, M3/W: width of third upper molar,M/1L: length of first lower molar, M/2L: length ofsecond lower molar, M/3L: length of third lowermolar, M/1W: width of first lower molar, M/2W:width of second lower molar, M/3W: width of thirdlower molar, UML: length of upper tooth row,LML: length of lower tooth row, BCH: braincaseheight, RH: rostral height, ZYGW: zygomatic bre-adth, RW: rostral width (maximum distance), IOW:interorbital constriction, BB: Breadth of braincase,CL: condylobasal length, BL: bulla length.

RESULTS

Totally, 127 specimens belonging to 5 families,14 genera and 15 species were captured.

Family MURIDAESubfamily MURINAE

1. Mus musculus Linnaeus, 1758

TYPE LOCALITY. Uppsala, Sweden (Musser &Carleton, 2005).

DISTRIBUTION. Worldwide distribution (exceptAntarctica) and commensally introduced by humanto islands (Musser & Carleton, 2005).

MATERIAL LOCALITIES. Sardasht, Biskove;Fariab; Bazman, Sefid Abad; Dalgan; Hudian;Bampur, Jafar Abad, Ali Abad; Iranshahr, TighAbad; Nikshahr; Fariab, Sardak-i-Sargorich;Kahnooj; Anbar Abad, Amjaz.

DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS. The inner tubercle ofthe first loop of the first and second upper molarsis markedly curved backwards; incisors with adenticle (Bonhomme et al., 1994; Din et al., 1996;Darvish et al., 2006b; Darvish, 2015).

2. Apodemus witherbyi Thomas, 1902

TYPE LOCALITY. Iran, Fars Province, Shul(Musser & Carleton, 2005).

DISTRIBUTION. Plains, mountain and plateausteppes, and highland semi-deserts (not found indesert depressions) from southern Europe, Anatolia,the Middle East except Arabia, probably also occursin Afghanistan (Musser & Carleton, 2005), Darvishet al. (2015) revealed its distributional range in Iran.

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MATERIAL LOCALITIES. AnbarAbad, Amjaz.

DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS. Pectoral spot; stephan-odont first upper molar; cusp-like t7 on 2nd uppermolar; U-shaped fronto-parietal suture; posterior edgeof the palatine is straight; large t7 on the first uppermolar (Darvish et al., 2006a; Darvish et al., 2014).

3. Rattus rattus Linneaus, 1758

TYPE LOCALITY. Sweden, Uppsala County,Uppsala (Musser & Carleton, 2005).

DISTRIBUTION. Native to Indian Peninsula, andintroduced worldwide in the temperate zone andparts of the tropical and subantarctic zones (Musser& Carleton, 2005).

MATERIAL LOCALITIES. Minab, Tarom.

SPECIES PREVIOUS REPORTS THIS STUDY NO.

Jaculus blanfordi Jaz Murian (1) Bazman, Shandak; Bampur, JafarAbad; Kahnooj, Avaz Abad; Maskutan

5, 7, 11, 13

Mus musculus IranShahr (4); Jaz Murian, Nikshahr,Kahnooj (3, 14); Jiroft, Anbar Abad (2, 9)

Sardasht, Biskove; Fariab; Bazman; Bazman, Sefid Abad; Dalgan; Hudian;Bampur, Jafar Abad, Ali Abad; Iranshahr, Tigh Abad; Nikshahr; Fariab, Sardak-i-Sargorich; Kahnooj;Anbar Abad, Amjaz

1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13

Apodemus witherbyi Anbar Abad, Amjaz (2) AnbarAbad, Amjaz 16

Nesokia indica Iran Shahr (1); Bampur (5) Bampur, Ali Abad; Kahnooj; AnbarAbad, Kesht-o-Sanat

7, 13, 17

Rattus rattus Jiroft (2) Minab, Tarom 3

Golunda ellioti Jiroft, Kahnooj (11), (12); AnbarAbad, Amjaz (2, 10, 12)

AnbarAbad, Amjaz 16

Acomys dimidiatus Jiroft (2, 13) Sardasht, Biskove; Kohe Hidar village; Fanuj; Fariab

1, 2, 4, 11

Meriones persicus Iran Shahr, Nikshahr (6); Jiroft (2); Amjaz (2)

Amjaz 16

Meriones libycus Iran Shahr, Jaz Murian (1, 3) Bazman, Kargokan, Cheshm-i-Abegarm; Hudian; Iranshahr, TighAbad; Maskutan

5, 6, 8, 11

Meriones hurrianae Nik Shahr, Ghasreghand (7) -

Gerbillus nanus Jaz Murian (1) Minab, Tarom; Bazman, Kalgande; Jolgechah-i-Hashem; Bampur, Jafar Abad, Ali Abad; Iranshahr, TighAbad;Maskutan

3, 5, 6, 7, 8,11

Tatera indica Chah-i-Dadkhoda (7), Iranshahr; JazMurian, Nikshahr, Kahnooj (3, 14); Jiroft, Anbar Abad (2, 13)

Minab, Tarom; Roodan; Bazman; Dalgan; Jolgechah-i-Hashem; Hudian;Bampur, JafarAbad; Roodbar

3, 4, 5, 6, 7,14

Calomyscus hotsoni

- Kohe Hidar village; Fanuj; Anbar Abad

2, 9, 17

Cricetulus migratorius

Anbar Abad, Amjaz (2) Anbar Abad 16

Micotus kermanesis - Anbar Abad 16

Ellobius fuscocapillus Bashagerd (8) -

Hystrix indica Jaz Murian (7); Iranshahr (3, 13) Observed and colleceted its spines inKohe Heidar village by the first author

2

Table 1. Sampling localities of previous reports and present study of rodents from the Jaz Murian depression. 1: Lay, 1967; 2:Amir Afzali et al., 2010; 3: Etemad, 1978; 4: Darvish, 2006c; 5: Zaree, 2013; 6: Missone, 1959; 7: Heptner, 1940; 8: Shenbrot& Krosnov, 2005; 9. Haddadian Shad et al., 2016.; 10: Darvish, 2012; 11: Nazari & Farid, 1991; 12: Madjdzadeh, 2012; 13:Firouz ,1999; 14: Ziaie, 2008.

KHAJEH ASGHAR ET ALII

DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS. Tail length longerthan head and body length; ear reaches eye if pulleddown; supraorbital ridges of the skull not parallel(Darvish, 2015).

4. Nesokia indica (Gray, 1830 in 1830–1835)

TYPE LOCALITY. India (Musser & Carleton, 2005).

DISTRIBUTION. Modern range covers Bangladesh,N-India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria,Saudi Arabia, Israel-Jordan, NE-Egypt, NW-China,and Central Asia (Musser & Carleton, 2005).

MATERIAL LOCALITIES. Bampur, Ali Abad;Kahnooj; Anbar Abad, Kesht-o-Sanat.

DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS. Incisors are broad;breadth of zygomatic arcs is more than a half of theskull length; skull is with well developed crests(Darvish, 2015).

5. Acomys dimidiatus Cretzschemar, 1826

TYPE LOCALITY. Egypt, Sinai.

DISTRIBUTION. Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, Levant,Arabian Peninsula, S-Iraq, S-Iran, and S-Pakistan(Musser & Carleton, 2005).

MATERIAL LOCALITIES. Sardasht, Biskove; KoheHidar village; Fanuj; Fariab.

DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS. Dorsal pledge isspiny; Tma is incorporated into the prelobe; onupper first molar t3 is posterior to t2; cusps linkedwith crests (Volobouev et al., 2007).

6. Golunda ellioti Gray, 1837

TYPE LOCALITY. India, Dharwar (Musser & Car-leton, 2005).

DISTRIBUTION. SE-Iran, Pakistan, Nepal, N- andNE-India south through Indian peninsula to SriLanka (Musser & Carleton, 2005).

MATERIAL LOCALITIES. Anbar Abad, Amjaz.

DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS. Upper incisors is groovedand upper molars have special columnar structurewith high separated cusps (Darvish et al., 2012)

Taxa N BL TL FL EL

MURIDAEApodemus whiterbyi 6 88.50±7.81 102.00±3.84 21.00±1.09 16.16±0.75

Mus musculus 32 72.40±8.13 74.62±8.95 16.23±1.85 12.63±1.18

Meriones libycus 13 128.53±16.19 149.54±22.67 34.23±2.52 18.07±2.01

Meriones persicus 1 155.10 180.60 31.20 17.00

Tatera indica 13 151.80±13.64 173.22±12.44 37.10±2.99 25.30±3.59

Gerbillus nanus 15 75.53±4.35 118.00±8.67 23.23±1.09 12.07±0.86

Golunda ellioti 2 135±00 110.00±2.82 26.50±0.70 18.00±00

Nesokia indica 8 157.25±41.37 109.12±26.68 31.62±4.43 18.16±3.86

Rattus rattus 2 115.00±00 199.00±33.94 32.00±2.82 22.50±3.53

Acomys dimidiatus 21 90.50±10.24 106.18±9.80 19.38±0.50 20.00±1.60CALOMYSCIDAE

Calomyscus hotsoni 6 72.83±4.26 82.50±8.36 18.83±0.75 17.33±1.03DIPODIDAE

Jaculus blanfordi 6 123.16±7.73 205.33±49.57 67.16±3.18 25.33±1.36CRICETIDAE

Micotus kermanesis 1 140 54 23 16

Cricetulus migratorius 1 119 21 14 21

Table 2. Standard external measurements (Mean ± SD, in mm) of different species of rodents in southeast of Iran (see the text for abbreviations). BL: body length, TL: tail length, FL: foot length, EL: ear length.

207A contribution on rodents fauna of the Jaz Murian depression, southeast Iran

Family MURIDAESubfamily GERBILINAE

7. Meriones persicus Blanford, 1875

TYPE LOCALITY. Iran, Kohrud, 116 km North ofIsfahan (Musser & Carleton, 2005).

DISTRIBUTION. Iran, adjacent regions of Transcau-casia, Turkey (E-Anatolia), Iraq, Turkmenistan, Afgh-anistan and Pakistan (Musser & Carleton, 2005).


DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS. Each incisor have agroove; bullae enlarged; hind soles are bare; tail islonger than head and body (Corbet, 1978; Darvish,2015).

8. Meriones libycus Lichtenstein, 1823

TYPE LOCALITY. Egypt, Alexandria (Musser &Carleton, 2005).

Taxa N M1/L M2/L M3/L M1/WM2/WM3/W M/1L M/2L M/3L M/1WM/2WM/3W LML UML

MuridaeApodemuswhiterbyi 6 1.81±

0.071.20±0.04

0.93±0.06

1.15±0.06

1.06±0.08

0.79±0.03

1.56±0.19

1.17±0.03

1.05±0.23

1.07±0.07

1.04±0.13

0.90±0.06

4.12±0.83

3.68±0.06

Mus musculus 32 1.83±0.8

1.03±0.05

0.64±0.05

1.11±0.04

0.92±0.06

0.63±0.15

1.43±0.11

0.94±0.09

0.69±0.09

1.04±0.07

0.93±0.08

0.59±0.05

3.30±0.17

3.07±0.15

Meriones libycus 13 2.68±0.41

1.50±0.14

0.77±0.08

1.75±0.19

1.55±0.18

0.86±0.12

2.42±0.24

1.56±0.24

0.91±0.20

1.80±0.13

1.74±0.11

1.02±0.14

5.43±0.50

5.39±0.39

Meriones persicus

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tatera indica 13 3.18±.26

1.75±0.11

1.11±0.12

2.39±0.09

2.06±0.19

1.42±0.10

2.99±0.13

1.92±0.13

1.29±0.18

2.27±0.13

2.23±0.15

1.40±0.12

6.44±0.26

6.19±0.24

Gerbillus nanus 15 1.85±0.10

1.00±0.06

0.48±0.04

1.27±0.06

1.07±0.07

0.61±0.05

1.74±0.09

1.15±0.05

0.69±0.09

1.23±0.07

1.22±0.07

0.67±0.05

3.51±0.31

3.48±0.13

Golunda ellioti 12 2.68±0.09

2.57±0.06

2.39±0.07

2.11±00

2.28±0.05

1.64±0.04

2.95±0.00

2.17±0.32

1.73±0.14

1.74±0.12

1.76±0.17

1.50±0.24

6.80±0.02

6.73±0.11

Nesokia indica 8 3.41±0.35

2.34±0.29

2.00±0.31

3.00±0.27

2.79±0.34

2.28±0.30

3.51±0.30

2.48±0.30

2.13±0.51

2.48±0.22

2.67±0.18

2.06±0.24

8.64±0.96

8.42±0.71

Rattus rattus 2 3.08±00

2.34±0.24

1.60±0.09

1.95±0.14

1.83±0.09

1.40±0.12

2.68±0.16

1.90±0.11

1.84±0.04

1.71±0.06

1.79±0.13

1.61±0.14

6.44±0.77

6.26±0.73

Acomysdimidiatus 21 2.24±

0.041.51±0.05

1.01±0.04

1.53±0.04

1.45±0.07

0.92±0.05

1.93±0.05

1.39±0.06

1.04±0.05

1.37±0.06

1.38±0.06

0.99±0.06

4.5±0.09

4.1±0.09

CalomyscidaeCalomyscushotsoni 6 1.55±

0.061.22±0.08

0.60±0.04

1.10±0.05

1.05±0.03

0.67±0.03

1.46±0.06

1.24±0.05

0.78±0.03

1.03±0.02

1.13±0.02

0.69±0.02

3.39±0.12

3.26±0.15

Dipodidae

Jaculus blanfordi 6 1.83±0.10

1.72±0.09

1.39±0.08

1.76±0.10

1.78±0.04

1.31±0.10

2.03±0.10

2.05±0.11

1.68±0.16

1.67±0.05

1.91±0.09

1.40±0.04

5.26±0.19

5.46±0.13

CricetidaeMicotuskermanesis 1 2.67 2.17 2.53 1.67 1.37 1.28 3.70 2.01 2.02 1.62 1.01 1.22 7.94 8.05

Cricetulusmigratorius 1 1.91 1.42 - 1.40 1.27 - 1.73 1.41 1.39 1.24 1.26 0.96 4.23 4.40

Table 3. Dental measurements (Mean ± SD, in mm) of different species of rodents from the Jaz Murian depression, southeastIran. (Data were not prepared for Meriones persicus). M1/L: length of first upper molar, M2/L: length of second uppermolar, M3/L: length of third upper molar, M1/W: width of first upper molar, M2/W: width of second upper molar, M3/W:width of third upper molar, M/1L: length of first lower molar, M/2L: length of second lower molar, M/3L: length of thirdlower molar, M/1W: width of first lower molar, M/2W: width of second lower molar, M/3W: width of third lower molar,UML: length of upper tooth row, LML: length of lower tooth row.

208 KHAJEH ASGHAR ET ALII

DISTRIBUTION. North Africa through Saudi Ara-bia, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, CentralAsia to W-China; probably Anatolia (Musser &Carleton, 2005).

MATERIAL LOCALITIES. Bazman, Kargokan,Cheshm-i-Abegarm; Hudian; Iranshahr, Tigh Abad;Maskutan.

DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS. Soles are not bare;claws are black (Darvish et al., 2006b).

9. Tatera indica Hardwicke, 1807

TYPE LOCALITY. Between Benares and Hardwar,north of India (Musser & Carleton, 2005).

DISTRIBUTION.An extensive range from SE-Anato-lia in Syria, Iraq, and Kuwait through Iran, Afgh-anistan, and Pakistan into most of Indian Peninsulanorth to S-Nepal; also Sri Lanka (Musser & Car-leton, 2005).

Table 4. Cranial measurements (Mean ± SD, in mm) of different species of rodents from The Jaz Murian depression, south-east Iran. (Data were not prepared for Meriones persicus). BCH: braincase height, RH: rostral height, ZYGW: zygomaticbreadth, RW: rostral width (maximum distance),IOW: interorbital constriction, BB: Breadth of braincase, CL: condylobasallength, BL: bulla length.

Taxa N BCH RH ZYGW RW IOW BB CL BL

Muridae

Apodemuswhiterbyi 6 7.92±0.35 6.21±0.45 12.70±0.35 4.32±0.22 4.26±0.15 11.55±0.20 23.30±0.92 4.97±0.65

Mus musculus 32 7.01±0.31 4.84±0.38 10.97±0.59 3.24±0.24 3.48±0.16 9.33±0.27 19.49±1.23 3.56±0.32

Meriones libycus 13 13.31±0.97 8.77±0.67 20.56±0.96 4.90±0.26 6.64±0.59 17.97±0.80 33.74±2.43 15.04±0.87

Meriones persicus - - - - - - - - -

Tatera indica 13 14.33±0.88 10.38±1.873

21.68±1.78 4.49±0.30 6.75±0.33 17.77±0.53 36.70±2.79 13.82±0.97

Gerbillus nanus 15 9.11±0.37 6.02±0.73 13.48±0.58 3.26±0.15 4.68±0.30 12.36±0.40 22.41±0.76 10.04±0.27

Golunda ellioti 2 10.00±0.24 8.30±0.24 15.98±0.07 5.23±0.16 4.41±0.32 12.84±0.27 30.73±0.38 6.52±0.12

Nesokia indica 8 14.59±1.85 12.59±2.16 25.00±3.96 7.29±1.08 6.20±0.66 17.04±1.31 40.05±6.84 7.86±0.99

Rattus rattus 2 11.31±0.43 8.86±1.39 18.03±1.95 5.71±0.65 5.65±0.77 15.44±1.51 35.18±4.76 6.25±0.51

Acomysdimidiatus 21 8.97±0.26 5.65±0.23 13.91±0.55 3.69±0.14 4.71±0.12 12.45±0.26 26.50±1.30 5.28±0.28

Calomyscidae

Calomyscushotsoni 6 7.42±0.31 5.01±0.21 12.16±0.39 3.83±0.18 4.05±0.24 10.89±0.44 20.78±1.22 5.44±0.32

Dipodidae

Jaculus blanfordi 6 14.17±0.45 8.40±0.48 23.44±0.68 5.27±0.18 12.51±0.41 22.64±0.57 31.39±1.00 15.62±0.64

Cricetidae

Micotuskermanesis 1 8.66 8.23 17.55 5.03 4.70 15.02 32.76 9.39

Cricetulusmigratorius 1 9.18 7.37 15.10 5.53 4.58 11.77 22.07 5.50


MATERIAL LOCALITIES. Minab, Tarom; Roodan;Bazman; Dalgan; Jolgechah-i-Hashem; Hudian;Bampur, Jafar Abad; Roodbar.

DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS. Bullae is rather small;transvers bands of molars are separate (Corbet,1967; Mirshamsi et al., 2007; Darvish, 2015).

10. Gerbillus nanus Blanford, 1875

TYPE LOCALITY. Pakistan, Gedrosia (Musser &Carleton, 2005).

DISTRIBUTION. An extensive range from theBaluchistan region of NW-India, Pakistan, S-Afgh-anistan, and Iran through the Arabian Peninsula,Iraq, Levant, North Africa to Morocco, south in theSahara to at least and NE-Mali (Musser & Carleton,2005).

MATERIAL LOCALITIES. Minab, Tarom; Bazman,Kalgande; Jolgechah-i-Hashem; Bampur, JafarAbad, Ali Abad; Iranshahr, Tigh Abad; Maskutan.

DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS. Tail is longer thanhead and body; auditory meatus with anterodorsalrim inflated; no curtain within the meatus (Corbet,1978; Darvish, 2015).

Family DIPODIDAE

11. Jaculus blanfordi Murray, 1884

TYPE LOCALITY. Bushire, Iran (Musser & Car-leton, 2005).

DISTRIBUTION. SE coast of Caspian Sea throughTurkmenistan to the Kyzylkum Desert, C-Uzbek-istan, E- and S-Iran (Lay, 1967), S- and W-Afgh-anistan and SW Pakistan (Musser & Carleton, 2005).

MATERIAL LOCALITIES. Bazman, Shandak; Bam-pur, Jafar Abad; Kahnooj, Avaz Abad; Maskutan.

DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS. Maxillary tooth rowusually under 5 mm (Corbet, 1978; Darvish, 2015).

Family CALOMYSCIDAE

12. Calomyscus hotsoni Thomas, 1920

TYPE LOCALITY. W-Pakistan, W-Balochistan,Makran Dist., Gwambuk Kaul, 50 km SW-Panjgur.

DISTRIBUTION. Recorded from vicinity of typelocality and Baluchistan Province of SE-Iran(Musser & Carleton, 2005).

MATERIAL LOCALITIES. Kohe Heidar; Fanuj;Anbar Abad.

DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS. Nasal width is nar-row; skull is high; diastema is long; intarorbital isnarrow.

Family CRICETIDAESubfamily CRICETINAE

13. Cricetulus migratorius (Pallas, 1773)

TYPE LOCALITY. West Kazakhstan,Lower UralRiver (Musser & Carleton, 2005).

DISTRIBUTION. SE-Europe to Romania and Bul-garia eastwards through Kazakhstan to S-Mongoliaand N-China southwards through Turkey and Tran-scaucasia to Levant, Iraq, Iran (Lay, 1967), Afgh-anistan, Pakistan and N-India (Musser & Carleton,2005).


DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS. Teeth are no-pris-matic and with two rows; antero external angles ofparietal is rounded (Corbet, 1978; Darvish, 2015).

Family CRICETIDAESubfamily ARVICOLLINAE

14. Micotus kermanesis

TYPE LOCALITY.

DISTRIBUTION. Dry montane steppe habitats onisolated mountains from N slopes of Kopet-DagMtns in S-Turkmenistan (Meyer et al., 1996), moun-tains in E-Iran in the NE (Khorassan Prov., 5 km N-Kashmar, USNM) and S (Kuh-e Laleh-Zar andKuh-e Hazar Mtns south of Kerman; Roguin, 1988),and the Hindu Kush of N-Afghanistan (Ellerman,1948; Parvan Province, Shibar Pass, FMNH).

MATERIAL LOCALITIES. Anbar Abad.

Family HYSTRICIDAE


15. Hystrix indica Kerr, 1792

TYPE LOCALITY. India

DISTRIBUTION. Transcaucasus, Asia Minor,Israel, Arabia to S Kazakhstan and India, Sri Lanka,Tibet (China) (Musser & Carleton, 2005).

MATERIAL LOCALITIES. Kohe Heidar

DISCUSSION

The Jaz Murian depression was formed from theEarly Tertiary during the southward movement ofMakran, between continental margin of Makran andLut basin (Berberian & King, 1981). It was part ofGondwana land mass possibly an extension of theAfro-Arabian continental platform (Stocklin, 1968;Berberian, 1976). From the biogeographic aspects,south of Iran was known as a bridge between ori-ental realm and African-Arabian region (known asEthiopian realm; Frey & Probst, 1986; Coad &Vhlenkin, 2004; Madjnoonian et al., 2005). Thisdry land surrounded by mountains and desert rangelacks endemic Iranian elements (Misonne, 1959)and was considered as a unique zoogeographic zone(Zarudny, 1911). Frey & Probst (1986) in theirsynopsis of the vegetation of Iran accounted theregion as a Nubo-Sindian zone which was excludedfrom Palaearctic parts of Iran from the phytogeo-graphic view. Conversely, the depression enjoysOriental and Ethiopian elements which could passthe Sindian plains and Arabian deserts penetratingIran from northern shores of Persian Gulf (Missone,1959; Frey & Probst, 1986). In fact, during the lateEarly Miocene, decline in the sea level may haveresulted in faunal exchange via some emergingislands (Wessels, 1955).

The penetration route of African (Ethiopian) ele-ments (Acomys I. Geoffroy, 1838, Gerbillus Des-marest, 1804 and Meriones Illiger, 1811) into theregion is not clear but Madjnoonian et al. (2005)proposed Bandar Abbas through Hormoz Strait asa paleo-corridor during Quaternary. Eastern spinymouse (Acomys dimidiatus) was blocked in thesoutheast Iran while Tatera indica could pass thebarriers into the central Plateau of Iran (Madjnoo-nian et al., 2005). Acomys dimidiatus entered southIran from the west and passing northern margin ofPersian Gulf (Fars, Bushehr, Hormozgan, Sistanand Baluchestan provinces) reaching southern

Pakistan (Etemad, 1978; Firouz, 1999; Frynta et al.,2010). This study provided new records of theEastern spiny mice from Kerman province. Meanvalue of tail length of the Jaz Murian specimensof A. dimidiatus is nearly similar to the Arabianspecimens (Harrison, 1972).

Steppe field mouse (A. witherbyi) was previouslyreported from different localities of Iran (Hossein-pour Feizi et al., 2009; Darvish et al., 2015). Com-paring to the specimens from northwest of Iran,mean value of head and body and tail length of theJaz Murian specimens is longer (Darvish et al.,2014). Considering the fact that genus ApodemusKaup, 1829 is a Palaearctic element (Michaux et al.,2002), the Jaz Murian depression can be interpretedas a boundary between Palaearctic and Orientalrealms. It is supposed that the Jaz Murian depressionis the southernmost boundary of distributional rangeof A. witherbyi in the world. The region might hasalso played a role as a corridor for entering Musmusculus from its origin (north Indian) to centralIranian Plateau (Bonhomme et al., 1994).

In Mus musculus and Tatera indica the head andbody and tail length of the Jaz murian specimenswere smaller than that of Pakistan specimens buttail lenght is longer than that of Mus musculus fromnorthwest of Iran (Roberts, 1997; Darvish et al.,2014). The head and the body length of Jaculusblanfordi from the region are smaller than that ofPakistan and Turkmenistan specimens but theaverage tail length of the Jaz Murian specimens islonger than the tail length of Pakistan and Turk-menistan specimens (Shenbrot et al., 2008). Thehead and body length of Cricetulus migratoriusfrom Jaz Murian is longer than the mean value ofthe head and body length of Pakistan, but the taillength is smaller. Also, it shows smaller head andbody and tail length compared to specimens fromthe northwest of Iran and Arabia (Harrison, 1972;Roberts, 1997; Darvish et al., 2014). Mean value ofhead and body length of Merion libycus is smallerthan that of Pakistan, but mean value of tail lengthis longer. Libyan jirds of the Jaz Murian showlonger mean value of head and body and tail lengthcomparing to the specimens from northwest of Iran(Roberts, 1997; Darvish et al., 2014). The head andbody and tail length of the Jaz Murian specimensof Nesokia indica is smaller than the Pakistan andArabian specimens (Harrison, 1972; Roberts,1997). Also, the Jaz Murian specimens of Calomy-


scus hotsoni show smaller head and body length,but longer tail length comparing to the Pakistanspecimens (Roberts, 1997).

Indian bush rat Golunda ellioti has been recor-ded from the Jaz Murian depression (Jiroft,Kerman) by different authors (Misonne, 1990;Nazari & Farid, 1991; Madjdzadeh 2012; Darvishet al., 2012). Actually, the genus Golunda occupiedoriental realm from early Pliocene (Cheema et al.,1997, 2003) and it seems that the Jaz Murian is thewesternmost boundary of this oriental species(Ziaie, 2008). The head and body and tail length ofGolunda ellioti from Jaz Murian is longer than thatof Pakistan specimens (Roberts, 1997).

Corbet (1978) mentioned that Meriones hurri-anae (Jerdon, 1867) (Baluchestan, southeast Iran)and Rattus niviventer (Hodgson, 1836) (northernPakistan) are oriental species which can be foundin the boundary of Palaearctic realm; however, theywere not captured in this study. The total headand body and the tail length of Rattus rattus fromJaz Murian specimens were smaller than that ofPakistan specimens (Roberts, 1997).

For most specimens, except Gerbillus nanus, andApodemus whiterbyi, total length of the body issmall, compared to that of their counterparts fromnortheast and northwest Iran (Darvish et al., 2006;Darvish et al., 2014). This pattern of nanism may bea response to lower precipitation and sparse vegeta-tion cover in the region. In fact, high temperatureand drought resulting in lower primary productivityand decline in food level, which in turn cause bodysize decline (Sheridan & Bickford, 2011).

CONCLUSION

The Jaz Murian depression is a crossroad betweenPalaearctic, Ethiopian and Oriental realms. Becauseof the conspicuous geographic and topographic fea-tures of this transition zone, a complex mixture ofrodent species such as Oriental species i.e. Golundaellioti, Meriones hurrianae, Mus musculus, Tateraindica, Hystrix indica and Ethiopian elements suchas Gerbillus nanus, Meriones libycus and Acomysdimidiatus beside Palaearctic species i.e. Apodemuswitherbyi, Rattus rattus, Cricetulusmigratorius,Microtus sp. can be found in the region. Although,the region is characterized by a low plains surroun-ded by high mountains, it is not strictly isolated.Thus, it can be considered as a corridor between three

realms. The specific geographical condition and theunique topography and climatic situation of the JazMurian depression made the region favorite destina-tion for zoogeographic and phylogeography studies.This study was just a preliminary investigation onthe rodent's fauna of the Jaz Murian depressioncarried out to contribute to other studies aimed atrevealing specific aspects of the region.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Permission to collect specimen was authorizedby the Iranian Department of Environment (Permis-sion Number: 93/45436; 10th Dec. 2014).

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